The present invention generally relates to lifting mechanisms generally including lifts, jacks, and lift or lifting platforms, each of these terms are used interchangeably herein.
Industrial lifting platforms provide a powerful mechanism to lift and or otherwise orientate machinery, manufactured parts, pallets, boxes and the like. These devices also serve as adjustable platforms for operators as well. The prior art including U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,167, shows a variety of different types or classes of industrial lifts including stationary lifts, mobile lifts, lifts with fixedly secured platforms as well as lifts with platforms capable of tilting about a horizontal axis as well as rotating about a vertical axis. Each of these lifts is built to a fixed design to achieve a basic purpose and is not convertible or reconfigurable from one class of lift to another.
The manufacturer, distributor or customer of these various lifts must maintain and/or purchase an extremely large inventory of fully assembled lifts or parts therefor to enable the manufacture, assembly and use of a large set of products. The present invention has as one of its goals the reduction of inventoried parts while still enabling the assembly of a wide variety of lifts including those mentioned above. The present invention shows how the above mentioned lifts can be assembled utilizing modularity which permit for example starting with one type of basic lift and converting or reconfiguring its purpose and functionality.
More particularly, the present invention comprises in a first embodiment: a vertical lift including an upper frame member, a lower frame member, and the upper frame member is movable by a powering unit between a lowered position and a lifted position. The lift additionally includes a support mechanism that maintains the alignment of the upper frame member and a lower frame member. The powering unit is also referred to as a force generating subassembly. As can be appreciated the support mechanism can also be part of the power unit.
In the illustrated embodiment the support mechanism comprises a plurality of scissor mechanisms which primarily serve to support the upper frame and to maintain the alignment between the upper and lower frames. In the illustrated embodiment the scissor mechanisms are part of a lift support assembly and as such the illustrated lift is often referred to as a scissor lift. The powering unit or force generating subassembly in some of the illustrated embodiments is achieved by a plurality of inflatable chamber's (which resemble tires, air bags or bellows) that act directly between the upper and lower frames. The invention encompasses other support mechanisms and powering units. The lift is configured to accept one of a plurality of modular element or units to vary the functionality of the lower frame member and/or the upper frame member creating various lifts to provide commercial and functional flexibility and easily meet varying customer demand. In the illustrated embodiments the lift has a one-to-one ratio lift, with high lifting capacity, employing air bag (bellows) having diameters of up to 0.76 m (30 inches) to achieve a low profile, rapidly responsive lift. The lift is engineered to maximize structural strength and reduce cost by optimally placing steel elements in critical locations throughout the lift as opposed to increasing the size and weight of all of the components.